The present invention relates to a superconductive rotor having a superconductive field coil such as used in a generator or a motor, and, more particularly, to a structure for supporting a power lead, refriegerant supply, and discharge pipes of the superconductive rotor.
The term "superconductive rotor" is generally used to mean a rotor having a field coil constituted by a superconductive material. Since the superconductive rotor has a superconductive coil, it is necessary to install a power lead for supplying the exciting electric current to the coil and pipes for circulating a refrigerant such as helium to cool the coil itself and the rotor structure. The power leads and the pipes extend through a hollow shaft at the opposite side of the prime-mover or load of the superconductive rotor. The power lead is connected to a stationary power supply at the end of this shaft through a slip ring while the pipes are connected to a refrigerant supplying and discharging device through a refrigerant transfer joint or coupling as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,671. Therefore, the power lead and pipes are considerably longer in comparison with their diameters. In consequence, it is necessary to fix the power lead and the pipes to the inside of the shaft and to prevent them from vibrating, so that the function of these power leads and pipes can be well performed.
In this superconductive rotor, the power leads and the pipes for refrigerant extend through the cavity in the hollow shaft and, accordingly, have considerably large lengths. In the conventional superconductive rotor, these power leads and pipes are supported inside the shaft by means of a plurality of spacers which are arranged at suitable pitches in the axial direction therebetween. In order to make it easy to mount the spacer on the shaft, however, it is necessary to provide a certain gap between the spacer and the shaft.
For this reason, in the conventional superconductive rotor, the power leads and the pipes can not be fastened firmly to the inside of the shaft.
Moreover, it is more significant that, in conventional superconductive rotors, the center of gravity of the power leads and pipes tied by the spacers does not coincide with the axis of the rotor.